It’s Time to Outfit Yourself and Your Pets in Blaze Orange

Several hunting seasons are underway, with several more set to begin this month, so remember your blaze orange anytime you're near the woods.

I live with an archer, so hunting season has already begun at my house. Jim and I are often up before dawn, each getting ready for the day. But, while I'm donning work clothes, he's putting on the camo clothes and spraying them with a scent-away spray, so he can spend the pre-dawn hours blending into the tapestry of the Maine woods, just waiting for dawn to begin a morning of hunting.

Bow-hunting season for deer is underway in the expanded zone, and will begin everywhere on October 5th. Bear hunting season is also underway, and will continue until November 30th. The hunts for gray squirrels and snowshoe hares started over the weekend while raccoon season starts on Tuesday, October 1st, and the seasons for opossums, skunks, and foxes begin on October 21st. The moose hunt will resume on October 14th, for four days. Firearms season for deer will begin with Maine resident only day on November 2nd, and then the hunt opens to everyone on November 3rd. Youth deer day is set for October 26th. Find the complete list of dates on the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife website.

So it makes sense, with all these hunters headed to the woods, to make yourself and your pets as visible as possible. Bright colors are always good, with blaze orange being the traditional 'I'm not a hunter' outdoor wardrobe. Your pup may not love that blaze orange vest or bandanna around his/her neck, but it sends a clear signal to hunters that this is a domestic pet. Let's make this a safe hunting season for everyone.